After Silent Hill opened theatrically, I read a number of reviews and comments from those who had seen the film, and that’s really what I want to address first before even getting into the review for this film. A great deal of what I read mentioned how, in the game, there was this, or the movie wasn’t like the game because they had not used certain characters, but let’s really look at this from one, single stand-point; THIS IS NOT THE GAME! If you want the movie to be EXACTLY like the game, guess what? Konami has already given you that option; play the game! Silent Hill is based on the game, and to be quite honest, it is undoubtedly one of the most faithful translations that I’ve seen.

How about a quick run down on some of the video game theatrical translations that have been seen over the years? These would include; Super Mario Brother, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Mortal Komabt (and Mortal Kombat Annihilation), Doom, House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne That’s just to name a few, and these films have been HORRIBLE! Let’s not forget that Uwe Boll is still insistent upon making more video games into theatrical film, and while he’s not responsible for all of the aforementioned atrocities, he is at the heart of a number of them these days.

The face of theatrical survival horror first came with Resident Evil, the franchise that is responsible for more or less creating the genre, though there are other games that came before it. Resident Evil however only vaguely follows the ideas behind the game, though the newer films are trying to become a bit more faithful while still retaining their own individuality. Resident Evil paved the way for the Silent Hill and Fatal Frame games, two other names in the genre that are incredibly popular, and each with their own unique approach to horror.

Silent Hill, both the film and games, is set in the town of Silent Hill, a mysterious and virtually abandoned little town perpetually under the thick cloud of fog and smoke. The movie wastes precious little time getting the town, and within fifteen minutes, viewers find themselves emerged in the dark and dismal world. The overall plot finds a mother, Rose (Radha Mitchell), taking her young daughter, Sharon (Jodelle Ferland), to Silent Hill. Night after night the girl has been screaming about “Silent Hill” and Rose feels she has no choice but to take her daughter to the town, though why is still a mystery. However, Silent Hill has some rather grim secrets that Rose begins to uncover, 30 years of evil and horrible events as well as some entities that lurk within the darkest recesses of the town.

If you’re unfamiliar with the games, here is the one thing that you’re going to learn very quickly, as did my wife; when you hear the siren blaring through the town or when the scene suddenly turns dark, something bad is definitely going to happen. Couple this with music by Akira Yamaoka and you have an experience that isn’t that far removed from the game itself, though two hours isn’t nearly enough time to cover everything that Silent Hill has to offer. Another huge point in the films favor is that Christophe Gans is actually a fan of the games, not just a hired Hollywood gun come into the project in order to get a paycheck, and he took the time and effort to get the license for the games that he loves.

It isn’t just the fact that the film quickly transporters viewers to Silent Hill itself that works, but the movie also begins to introduce its strange and creepy menagerie of beings very soon as well, and rarely do you see the same creature. Pyramid Head, or Red Pyramid, is one of the few exceptions to this rule, and much like in the game, he’s a huge, hulking monstrosity complete with an oversized sword. The film also utilizes elements from the third game, that being the dark, sinister side of Silent Hill where everything is decayed and corroded. There are fantastic transitions during these parts as you’ll see the surroundings melt and fall away, revealing a more horrific side.

Silent Hill brings with it other elements besides horror and a mother and her daughter. Early on, the two meet Cybil (Laurie Holden), a local police officer who is a bit worried that the pair are headed towards the abandoned town and decides to follow. Soon however, she becomes wrapped up in the horror as well. Rose’s husband on the other hand, Christopher (Sean Bean) heads out to find the two, but ultimately discovers nothing save for a bit of the information that he begins to uncover about the town itself. This is something that I know did confuse a few people, and I’d like to clarify everything as best as I can. Silent Hill exists in multiple dimensions. Christopher is searching the current town where no one dwells and has long been abandoned whereas Rose, Cybil, and Sharon have been pulled into an alternate dimension of Silent Hill, a nightmarish version where Alessa remains trapped as do the twisted cult members led by Christabella (Alice Krige.) There is also a third Silent Hill, the one cloaked in darkness and evil, but only those who have been “invited” ever gain the opportunity to see it.

The film isn’t just bringing in characters or familiar story aspects, but there are still other similarities to the games. During the movie, Rose actually finds clues to lead her to her next destination, something that mimic’s the puzzle solving elements found in the games. Both Cybil and Rose eventually have the means to find out if some of the town’s nasty denizens are lurking nearby, something else found in the games, and the static sounds were always something that made gamers dread what lay ahead of them. There are also locations from the game, such as the back alleys of the town or even seeing character jump between two buildings (seen in Silent Hill 2) as well as camera shots that really are similar to the game themselves. A great deal of care has been taken to make sure that Silent Hill, the movie, is faithful to the games in a number of ways.

Once you’ve taken in the film, you can get a good look behind the scenes of the film, and this isn’t some five minute tease. At nearly an hour, you will see almost every aspect, from casting the film down to the design of the creatures and Silent Hill itself, and even I was surprised to learn that the movie has over 160 different sets that were used, an impressive number for any horror film. There were rumors and speculation that there may be more to Silent Hill than what was seen in theaters, however everything that you see in the film is exactly what Gans wanted you to see, and there is no additional footage to be found (at least . . . that’s the current rumor.)

Many filmmakers have attempted to recapture the glory of some of the worlds most popular video games, but Silent Hill is the only one that I feel has truly captured the game as best as it can. There will always be devoted fans of Silent Hill complaining about minor changes in the story or how the game has something that the movie doesn’t, and again the only comment that I have is that this is not the game, but merely an adaptation of Konami’s Silent Hill series. With other survival horror games in the works, such as the proposed Fatal Frame movie, hopefully producers are looking towards the darkness, towards Silent Hill to see exactly how a film of this nature can be made.

-mike-